


What Retired People Do

by reeby10



Series: Comment Fic [99]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, Painting, Retirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-11 22:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10476243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: John honestly never thought he’d live long enough to retire.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Corvidology](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvidology/gifts).



> Written for [this prompt](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/634719.html?thread=86671455#t86671455) at [comment_fic](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/).

John honestly never thought he’d live long enough to retire. When he was with the army, he figured he’d end up dying in a foreign country thanks to an enemy gunman. When he was in the CIA, that idea was compounded with the reality of being a spy, of being faced with having only his partner to back him up in situations that were monumentally more dangerous than what he’d faced before.

When he started working with Harold, none of that really changed. He was on familiar ground, but he was more alone than ever and the dangers never ceased. Eventually he was less alone in the fight, but he also saw firsthand that all the skills in the world weren’t always going to save him. He’d been close to death more times than he could remember.

And yet, he was still alive. His body ached when it rained and he walked with a limp, but he was still there and he still had Harold by his side. They’d even been married for the past five years, which was almost as shocking as him still being alive.

The only problem was that neither of them really knew what to do with themselves after handing over the reigns of the Machine to those younger and more suitable to using it. Without gunfights and car chases, they were lost. What did normal people do in retirement?

“John, what are you… are you painting?”

John looked up to see Harold standing in the doorway, a shocked expression on his face. “Yes,” he said slowly. “What do you think?”

“It’s, um, lovely,” Harold said, taking a hesitant step into the room, eyes not leaving John’s easel. “Very… red.”

“I decided all black would probably be a little too much,” John explained. He’d thought about adding blue as well, but that seemed like too much effort. There were just so many shades of blue to pick from. Easier to stay with just black and red.

“Of course,” Harold said, nodding. John looked at him suspiciously, wondering why he was saying so little. Usually he couldn’t get Harold to shut up about art. “And why are you painting, exactly?”

John shrugged. “It’s what retired people do apparently.”

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit welcome. If you like my fic, feel free to come hit me up [on tumblr](http://voldiebuns.tumblr.com/)!


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